Nathu La is one of the three trading border posts between China
and India; the other two are Shipkila in Himachal Pradesh and Lipulekh (or Lipulech) in Uttarakhand.[2]
Sealed by India after the 1962 Sino-Indian War, Nathu La was re-opened
in 2006 following numerous bilateral trade agreements. The opening
of the pass is expected to bolster the economy of the region and
play a key role in the growing Sino-Indian trade. Currently,
agreements between the two nations limit trade across the pass to
29 types of goods from India and 15 from the Chinese side. The
opening also shortens the travel distance to important Hindu and Buddhistpilgrimage sites in the region.

Contents

History

Nathu La is located on the 563 km (333 mi) Old Silk Route, an
offshoot of the historic Silk Road. The Old Silk Route connects Lhasa in Tibet to the plains of Bengal to the south. In 1815, trade volumes
increased after the British annexed territories belonging to
the Sikkimese, Nepalese, and Bhutanese. The potential of Nathu
La was realised in 1873, after the DarjeelingDeputy Commissioner published a
report on the strategic importance of mountain passes between
Sikkim and Tibet. In December 1893, the Sikkimese monarchy and Tibetan rulers signed an
agreement to increase trade between the two nations.[1]
The agreement culminated in 1894 when the trade pass was
opened.[3]

Nathu La played a key role in the 1903–1904 British expedition to
Tibet, which sought to prevent the Russian Empire from
interfering in Tibetan affairs and thus gaining a foothold in the
region. In 1904, Major Francis Younghusband, serving as
the British Commissioner to Tibet, led a successful mission through
Nathu La to capture Lhasa. This led to the setting up of trading
posts at Gyantse and Gartok in Tibet, and gave control
of the surrounding Chumbi Valley to the British. The
following November, China and Great Britain ratified an agreement
approving trade between Sikkim and Tibet.[4][5]

In 1947 and 1948, a popular vote for Sikkim to join newly
independent India failed and Indian Prime MinisterJawaharlal
Nehru agreed to a special protectorate status for Sikkim.
Sikkim agreed to be a protectorate nation and Indian troops were
allowed to man its borders, including Nathu La. During this period,
more than 1,000 mules and 700 people were involved in cross-border
trade through Nathu La.[3]
In 1949, when the Tibetan government expelled the Chinese living
there, most of the displaced Chinese returned home through the
Nathu La–Sikkim–Kolkata route.[6]

With the absence of air or rail facilities in the region in the
1950s, Nathu La was used by several dignitaries to cross the
international boundary between Tibet and Sikkim. The current Dalai
Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, used this pass to travel to
India for the 2,500th birthday celebration of Gautam Buddha, which was held between
November 1956 and February 1957.[7]
Later, on 1 September 1958, Nehru, his daughter Indira Gandhi, and
Palden Thondup Namgyal (son
of—and internal affairs adviser to—Tashi Namgyal, the Chogyal of Sikkim) used this pass to travel to
nearby Bhutan.

After the People's Republic of China
took control of Tibet in 1950 and suppressed a Tibetan uprising in
1959, the passes into Sikkim became a conduit for refugees from
Tibet. During the 1962 Sino-Indian War, Nathu La witnessed
skirmishes between soldiers of the two countries. Shortly
thereafter, the passage was sealed and remained closed for more
than four decades.[8]
Between 7 and 13 September 1967, China's People's Liberation Army and
the Indian Army had
six-day "border skirmishes", including the exchange of heavy
artillery fire.[9]
In 1975, Sikkim acceded to India and Nathu La became part of Indian
territory. China, however, refused to acknowledge the
accession.

During the 1990s, bilateral trade agreements were signed by
India and China that paved the way for opening of the pass. In
December 1991, India and China signed the Memorandum on the
Resumption of Border Trade; subsequently, in July 1992, the
Protocol on Entry and Exit Procedures for Border Trade was
signed. These two documents contained provisions for border trade
through Nathu La. On 23 June 2003, India and China signed the
Memorandum on Expanding Border Trade that provided for the
use of Nathu La in border trade between India and China.[12]

In 2003, with the thawing of Sino-Indian relations, Indian
Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's visit to
China led to the resumption of talks on opening the border. Later
in 2004, the Indian Defence Minister's visit to China led to the
formal opening of the pass. The opening, originally scheduled for 2
October 2005, was postponed due to last-minute infrastructure
problems on the Chinese side. Finally, after a decade of talks,
Nathu La was opened on 6 July 2006.[13]
The date of the re-opening coincided with the birthday of the
reigning Dalai Lama, and is widely seen as a snub to the International Tibet Independence
Movement.[5]
In the years before the re-opening, the only person permitted to
cross the barbed-wire frontier was a Chinese postman with an Indian
military escort, who would hand over mail to his Indian counterpart
in a building at the border. The event also formally recognises
Tibet as part of China by India and Sikkim's accession to
India.[5]

The opening of the pass was marked by a ceremony on the Indian
side that was attended by officials from both countries, including
Sikkim Chief Minister Pawan Kumar Chamling (the chief
guest), the Chinese ambassador to India, and the Tibetan Autonomous
Region Chairman, Champa Phuntsok. A delegation of 100
traders from India and 100 Tibetans crossed the border to
respective trading towns. Despite heavy rain and chilly winds, the
ceremony was marked by attendance of many officials, locals, and
international and local media.[13]
The barbed wire fence between India and China was replaced by a 10
m (30 ft) wide stone-walled passageway.[14]
It was also decided to mark the year 2006 as the year of
Sino-Indian friendship.[15][14]

Geography

The pass is 54 km (34 mi) east of the Sikkimese capital, Gangtok, and 430 km (270 mi)
from the capital of the Tibetan Autonomous Region, Lhasa.[16][17]
In the winter, the pass is blocked by heavy snowfall. Because there
is no meteorological centre in Nathu La, systematic measurements of
meteorological data (such as temperature and rainfall) are not
available for the region.[18]
However, it is known that in the higher reaches of the Himalayas
around the region, summer temperature never exceeds 15 °C (59
°F).[19]

Nathu La has moderately shallow, excessively drained, coarse and
loamy soil on a steep slope (30–50%) with gravelly loamy surface,
moderate erosion, and moderate stoniness.[16]
It has several sinking zones and parts of it are prone to landslides.[20]
To preserve the fragile environment of Nathu La on the Indian side,
the government of India regulates the
flow of tourists. Road maintenance is entrusted to Border Roads Organisation, a
wing of the Indian Army.[21]
On the Chinese side the pass leads to the Chumbi Valley of the Tibetan
Plateau.[22]

Flora and
fauna

Because of the steep elevation increase around the pass, the
vegetation graduates from sub-tropical forest at
its base, to a temperate region, to a wet and dry alpine climate,
and finally to cold tundra
desert devoid of vegetation. Around Nathu La and the Tibetan side,
the region has little vegetation besides scattered shrubs. Major
species found in the region include dwarf rhododendrons (Rhododendron
anthopogon, R. setosum) and junipers. The meadows include the genera Poa, Meconopsis, Pedicularis, Primula, and Aconitum. The region has a four-month
growing season during which grasses, sedges and medicinal herbs grow abundantly and support
a host of insects, wild and domestic herbivores, larks, and
finches. The nearby Kyongnosla Alpine Sanctuary
has rare, endangered ground orchida and rhododendrons
interspersed among tall junipers and silver firs.[23]

Economy

Indian and Chinese officers at Nathu La

Up until 1962, before the pass was sealed, goods such as pens,
watches, cereals, cotton cloth, edible oils, soaps, building
materials, and dismantled scooters and four-wheelers were exported
to Tibet through the pass on mule-back. Two hundred mules, each
carrying about 80 kg (175 lb) of load were used to ferry goods from
Gangtok to Lhasa, which used to take 20–25 days. Upon return, silk,
raw wool, musk pods, medicinal plants, country liquor, precious
stones, gold and silverware were imported into India.[26]
Most of the trade in those days was carried out by the Marwari community, which
owned 95% of the 200 authorised firms.[5]

To facilitate cross-border trade, the two countries have set up
trading marts at Sherathang in Sikkim (6 km (4 mi) from Nathu
La) and Rinqingang in
Tibet (10 km (6 mi) from Nathu La) for the purposes of customs and
checking. Trading is open Mondays through Thursdays from
07:30/11:00 to 15:30/19:00 IST/Beijing Time (03:00 to 13:00 UTC). The trading
season starts on 1 June and continues through 30 September, when
snowfall and extreme weather render the pass unfit for travel. A
total of 100 traders and 60 trucks carrying goods are allowed to
operate from either side of the border.[27]

The re-opening of the pass is expected to stimulate the economy
of the region and bolster Indo-Chinese trade, which amounted to
US$7 billion in 2004. Before the pass was opened, almost all the
Indo-China trade went through the port of Tianjin more than 4,000 km (2,500 mi) away.
With the opening, this distance has been shortened to 1,200 km (745
mi).[29]
Figures released by the Tibet Autonomous Regional Bureau of
Commerce show that in the 51 days of trading in 2006, US$ 186,250
worth of trade passed through Nathu La.[30]
It is estimated that Sino-Indian trade would increase by nearly
15–20% within two years of Nathu La's opening.[8]
Trade volumes through the pass are projected to grow to Rs. 206 crore (US$ 44.6 million) by 2007,
and Rs. 12,203 crore (US$ 2.6 billion) by 2015.[5]
The pass offers Chinese companies access to the port of Kolkata (Calcutta), situated
about 1,100 km (700 mi) from Lhasa, for transshipments to and from Tibet.

On the Chinese side, 7,000 tourists visited Yadong County in
2006 and brought in 1.67 million yuan (US$ 216,000) in revenue.[30]
On the Indian side, only citizens of India can visit the pass on
Wednesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays,[16]
after obtaining permits one day in advance in Gangtok.[31]
The pass would be particularly useful for pilgrims visiting
monasteries in Sikkim such as Rumtek, one of the holiest shrines in
Buddhism. For Hindus, the pass reduces the journey time to Mansarovar Lake from fifteen to two
days.[32]

There are fears among some traders in India that Indian goods
will find a limited outlet in Tibet, while China will have access
to a ready market in Sikkim and West Bengal.[33]
A major concern of the Indian government is the trafficking of
wildlife products such as tiger and leopard skins and bones, bear
gall bladders, otter pelts, and shahtoosh wool into India. The Indian
government has undertaken a program to sensitise the police and
other law enforcement agencies in the area. Most of such illicit
trade currently takes place via Nepal.[34]

Transport

On the Tibetan side, two highways—from Kangmar to Yadong, and from Yadong to
Nathu La—have been listed in the 2006 construction plans of the
Ministry of Transportation and the Development and Reform
Commission of China. Plans are also underway to start a bus service
from Gangtok to Lhasa, and
to extend the Qinghai-Tibet
Railway to Yadong over the next decade.[8][35]